


Taken (Room No.17)

by Thatsarcasticidiot



Category: Monsta X (Band), SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: ?? - Freeform, Angst, Dystopia, Fluff, M/M, Prison, Romance, does this count as angst, idek
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-11
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-03-16 18:00:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13641543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thatsarcasticidiot/pseuds/Thatsarcasticidiot
Summary: In this world, when you are born, you get tested to see whether you will become a criminal or not. However test did not specify when or how likely this was to happen, so to be safe, they put all who tested positive in shelters when they turn 15 regardless of how you behaved before you were taken.Depending on their prediction and on behaviour shown in the shelter, the inmates are kept in different sections. Room No.17 is where the predicted murderers, arsonists and other viscous to be criminals are kept and it's exactly where Wonwoo's ended up.1/4 of the worlds population are in shelters; approximately 1/3 of those people would have led perfectly innocent lives had they not been taken, and 100% of them call bullshit on the system.





	1. Room No.17

**Author's Note:**

> Hi y'all first fic here, woop. But in all seriousness I hope you enjoy this fic since it's just been sitting in my drafts, and I didn't know whether I wanted to post it, but I've decided to and yeah, enjoy!
> 
> \- Thatsarcasticidiot

People considered Wonwoo lucky because he had avoided being Taken for so long; if you had tested positive, it would be extremely difficult to avoid being detained, practically impossible.

Although the people around him often told him how lucky he was and how privileged he should feel, he found it rather odd that he was expected to feel thankful for having an illness.

There were the families of taken kids, of course.

Those were the families who had lost their children to the test that wrote your life story for you, that decided wether you would be a normal law abiding citizen, or a dehumanised Taken. 

They were the ones who took out the devastation of losing their kids (though they knew this was to happen) on Wonwoo: a young boy, only eighteen, being Taken three years late.

 

-

Wonwoo had a rough idea of what the Seoul Shelter was going to be like; unwelcoming and cold. Needless to say, he wasn't far from the truth. 

His suspicions had already been confirmed before he had even set foot in the Master's Office, judging by the bare walls and the cold, metallic colours of the building.

Wonwoo didn't want to be here, he'd much rather be at home reading his books, the wafting scent of the seafood his mom loved to cook filling his nose, though he was so very allergic to it.

Obviously he knew he was going to spend the majority of his life in a shelter away from his family by the time he was two, so at least he had come to terms with the fact.

Luckily.

Whilst walking down the grey coloured hallway, he spotted an abnormal amount of crying teens, still probably grasping the fact that they'd never see their families again.  
Wonwoo shuddered, glad he wasn't as badly affected.

When he had finally reached the end of the unbelievably long hallway, the person he was with (he assumed they were just there to guide him around) stopped and gestured for him to knock on the door.

He knocked a total of three times before a booming voice resonated from the other side of the door.

The person (Wonwoo still didn't know who he was) who was dead serious the whole way, finally cracked a rather unsettling smile, though it only lasted for the duration of his words, and said,

"Good luck, you're on your own now."

That certainly calmed his nerves.

With a slightly shaking hand, he pushed the mahogany door open, looking into a large office; practically swimming with colour compared to the rest of the building, and a middle-aged man, dressed in a smart black suit.

The man, who was most probably the Master (he was sitting in the Master's Office for gods sake) beckoned him to take a seat.

Wonwoo hesitantly sat down in the chair in front of the Master and waited for him to begin talking.

The Master, with as equal of a serious face as the unnamed person who brought him here, began to speak,

"Jeon Wonwoo?"

Wonwoo responded with a nod of his head.

"Eighteen years of age, admitted late due to illness."

He wasn't quite sure of how to respond to such a serious tone and opted for another a sharp nod of the head.

"Displayed calm, peaceful behaviour before being Taken, however has clear anger issues." The Master said in his even tone.

"Well Jeon Wonwoo, I would suggest keeping your anger issues at bay, otherwise you might find yourself in Room No.17."

Wonwoo had heard of Room No.17 rumours before being taken: that it was where the predicted murderers and arsonists are detained (and that one inmate from Room No.17 had smiled for his mugshot). 

He surely wouldn't end up there, would he?

The Masters voice pulled him out of his thoughts,  
"However as of right now, you will be staying in Room No.14, you may have encountered Lee Jooheon who currently stays there."

Looking back on it, Wonwoo vaguely remembered Jooheon, a sweet boy from his town, who everyone was confused and devastated about how such a kind child could have tested positive, he never seemed too sad about being taken though...

The booming voice interrupted his thoughts once again, 

"I'll have Ailee take you there now."

-

Ailee was different, you could say.

She had a motherly protective side to her which was displayed more often than not, constantly reminding him that if he needed anything, he was to go to her first,

"I care about all of the inmates," she reasoned, "I know most of you are innocent anyway."

She asked him about his life before becoming a Taken and about his older brother, him mom, his dad, his best friend and people Wonwoo even forgot existed.

She certainly kept the conversation going until they reached a metal door with steel bars forming a small window-like opening. Unlocking it with a key that pretty much materialised out of nowhere, she pushed the door open.

"Don't worry too much, these boys are the nicest in my opinion... actually, the Dreamies are rather cute, they live down in Room No.06 though.  
Anyways! My point is, the Room No.14 boys are very sweet so keep your head up!"  
Ailee spoke very quickly, almost to quick for Wonwoo to even comprehend before shoving him in the room and locking the door behind him.

Wonwoo looked up to find a group of seven boys sitting on the small (absolutely tiny) couch and on the floor, all looking at him expectantly.

"Well?" One of them piped up, using a rather sarcastic tone.

He bowed fifteen degrees, "Umm, hi?"

"Wow," The boy who spoke earlier scoffed "He's even speaking informally with us."

Another boy, this one sitting on the floor, spoke,  
"Hyungwon stop it, you were new once too."

At the nameless boy's attempt to defend him, Wonwoo felt the corners of his lips rise slightly, suppressing that small feeling of happiness from showing on his face.  
'Hyungwon' sighed though he didn't push the conversation further.

Wonwoo took in Jooheon's face, and damn, puberty did him good, he sure has changed over three years; his jawline sharper, his eyes more charismatic.

Yet another boy began to speak, "You arrived right before lunch was going to start, so we'll wait for our door to be unlocked first, eat, then get the pleasantries over and done with over food."

"Sure" Wonwoo responds. 

-

After their door was unlocked, they were escorted to the cafeteria where they collected their food(?) and Wonwoo was about to sit at a separate table from his new "roommates", when the one who defended him beckoned him to their table, which had three new faces.

"Name's Changkyun by the way."

Nice, so now Wonwoo could put a face to a name.

"Thanks for being so nice to me back the-" Wonwoo began.

"Is this seriously the kid who was given extra time because he had a little cold?" It was one of the new faces.

Wonwoo averted his attention from Changkyun to the person he hadn't seen before.

"It wasn't a "little cold"." He grits his teeth, trying not to let a rise stir from within him. He was sensitive about this.

"Then what was it? The flu?" The boy's two friends begin to laugh.

Wonwoo's calm (relatively), sticking to clenching his fists and grinding his teeth until one of them says,

"You didn't deserve the time off, you little bitch."

And before he knows it he's being rushed off to the Master's Office for the second time in three hours, hearing rushed talk about the flipped table that nearly broke an arm.

-

"I am truly shocked," The Master clasped his hands together in wonder, "This is the first time an act like this has occurred on the first day."

Wonwoo had already accepted his fate in Room No.17 as soon as his finger tips left the flipped table.

"However, I'm afraid you will be placed in Room No.17 due to uncontrollable anger meltdowns."

Not even bothering to explain that the other boy instigated the act of violence, he stood up, bowed and waited for Ailee to pick him up.

So much for staying away from Room No.17.

-


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the fact that there's not much meanie yet, but it's coming! I just want to get the characters and their personalities developed first.
> 
> \- Thatsarcasticidiot

Wonwoos welcoming to room No.17 was rather odd, drastically differing from Ailees motherly welcome, Hyungwons cold welcome and Changkyuns well, welcoming welcome.

He was escorted to the room by a different person, not Ailee, and this new persons expression was identical to the glum atmosphere of the entire shelter; the whole encounter revolving around short, curt, quietly spoken words and Wonwoo, due to his shy nature, wasn't exactly the type to go around searching for unnecessary conversation, so he just walked, stuck in the uncomfortable silence.

Upon his arrival and the short instructions given by the man who brought him here, he was yet again shoved into the (noticeably bigger, but less furnished and obviously not made for comfort purposes) room , and call it de ja vu, but all eyes were instantly on him, just like in Room No.14.

This time however, he waited for one of the thirteen boys to speak up first.

"So, a new one." A boy Wonwoo recognises as the infamous kid who smiled for his mugshot.

"Yeah, I guess " Wonwoo mumbles, careful in order to maintain a certain level of formality.

One of the boys, who seems as if he possesses a lot of respect seeing as everyone gave him full attention as soon as he cleared his throat to speak, says

"Soonyoung, go show the new kid around" 

Soonyoung(?) stands up from his seat on the floor and beckons Wonwoo forward, not even bothering to check if Wonwoo is in fact following before exiting the cell and entering the room adjacent to it.

"So what's your prediction?" The boy asks, a smile lighting up his face instantly.

"Hacker"

Shock immediately reflects on the boys expression as he inquires,  
"Pardon my French, but what the living fuck are you doing here then?"

Wonwoo understands where the boy is coming from, after all, why mix a measly hacker with predicted murderers and gang members on their second day?

"Got into a 'fight' yesterday, nearly broke a guys arm, then they put me here." 

Wonwoo finger quotes fight, seeing as it wasn't actually a fight, just him getting angry. He sees the boy send a questioning glance at his quote marks, but he doesn't push it further.

"Wow, impressive. Fight on the first day, huh?" The boy scoffs  
"Name's Soonyoung by the way, if you didn't figure it out already."

Wonwoo makes an affirmative sound of confirmation.

"What's your prediction?" 

Looking around the room that they currently stand in, Wonwoo concludes that this must be where the boys sleep. The room is rather crowded and close quarters with metal bars against the window caging them in, not too unlike Room No.14, however the was a noticeable increase in space there.

"I'm a predicted gunman, same with Seokmin: the really loud, tall one, he's my best friend."  
We were pretty handy when it came to guns before we were taken, " 

He mimics shooting a gun, sound effects and all.

"Seungcheol was too: he got involved in quite a few shootouts, I guess he figured he might as well live life to the fullest if he was going to be taken." 

Soonyoung had a wistful look on his face, the entire time he was speaking, Wonwoo wondered why.

"Well anyways, this is where we sleep." 

He walked around the cramped room, pointing to an empty bunk

"and you'll seep here, on Mingyus bunk."

Wonwoo thanks Soonyoung for his curtesy and kindness and proceeds to place what little possessions he has on his newly allocated bed.

It's only now when Wonwoo fully processes that life won't be the same ever again, that he won't ever get out.

Stopping his train of thought right there before it gets out of hand, he pushes himself off where he was leaning against the bunk bed, and walks toward the room that everyone else is in.

On his way there, he notices thing like dents in walls, quite obviously from punching them, and holes in the door, probably from harsh kicks stemming from fustration. 

It makes him wonder just what he's walking in to.

 

-

 

Sitting on the floor next to Soonyoung, he immerses himself in listening to the boisterous chatter between the boys.

He learns that "smile for the mugshot" boy is named Minghao and seems to speak sarcasm as his second language (similar to Wonwoo himself), he notices that his Korean js rather choppy and notes that he probably isn't a native Korean.

There is a weird tension that he notices between a rather handsome brunette, Junhui and Minghao himself.

Almost every time Junhui declares his own beauty, and the tired sighs that follow, Minghao joins in but he lets his gaze linger for far too long to be considered simply platonic.

So when Seungkwan asks someone to kill Junhui for him after the nth time that he's called himself handsome, Minghao says   
"I'd gladly"  
But it lacks the usual bite that Wonwoos already accustomed to.

"No wonder they think you'll be a hitman." Junhui mutters under his breath.

 

Then next person(s) to grab Wonwoos attention were, as they called themselves, BooSeokSoon.

They could be summed up in three words: loud, weird and sassy.

Seungkwan covered the sassy, Soonyoung covered the weird and Seokmin was extremely loud, and Wonwoo had the feeling that being in the same room as them for too long wouldn't be beneficial for his blood pressure.

Thinking back to the conversation he had with Soonyoung in the sleeping area, he thought about how he knew Seokmin was a predicted gunman and how Soonyoung also ended up telling him how Seungkwan is a predicted car thief.

 

Whispering, which was a rare occurance for Soonyoung, he told Wonwoo,

"Once, Seungkwan slapped a guard in the face for calling him ugly."

Oh boy, Wonwoo's in for a ride.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a little drama in here yay! I hope you enjoy this chap bc I'm not really too happy with it, so I may edit it in the future. Also YAAY MEANIE FINALLY!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated as they tell me how you guys are finding the story and if there's anything you want me to keep or stop doing, I appreciate criticism a lot but hate will be deleted. Thanks y'all

It's Wonwoo's second lunch here, and he can only pray that nothing like his first day happens again. He just wants to forget it even happened.

However the boys seem to have other ideas; gossiping loudly and freely about the alleged "fight" - which, as Wonwoo said before, wasn't a fight - , like the rest of the lunch hall, and asking Wonwoo about the non existent gory details.

"For the last time, guys, all I did was flip a table, calm down." Wonwoo said, punctuating it with an exasperated sigh.

Seungkwan lets out a scandalised gasp,  
"All I did? All you did?" He mock faints, "it's been ages, absolutely ages, since we've had any drama in this place."

 

Jihoon, who Wonwoo had recently become acquainted with, slid along the metal bench and whispered in his ear,

"Ignore him, he's always hungry for some sort of commotion."

Giving him a half smile, he turns back to his food(?) and lifts his plastic fork, about to begin eating his much needed meal, before Joshua (he thinks that's his name) calls him.

Looking up, he meets his eyes.

"I hope you're settling in alright here Wonwoo, I know we can be quite overwhelming as a whole." He says with a sweet smile as he looked over the group, smile faltering slightly as he made eye contact with Minghao, but returning in a matter of seconds.

"It's all good." 

And it really is; the such diverse personalities giving Wonwoo a taste of real life, however ironic that is, seeing as they are locked away from the world.

Joshua confuses Wonwoo though; well not so much Joshua himself, but why he is in Room No.17. 

He seems much too good of a person to even be in a shelter in the first place, so it puzzles Wonwoo when he is already aware that Joshua was only predicted to be a petty thief: an even milder prediction than his own.

He makes a mental note to ask Soonyoung about it later.

-

Wonwoo pushes open the black door which leads to the admission area, ready to start his mandatory clean-up hours, set because of his unruly behaviour on his first day.

He sighs to himself, however it's cut short as soon as he sees that the room is already occupied.

It's one of the boys from his room, Mingyu, he believes.

"What are you doing here?" The boy asks.

"I could ask you the same."

Some sort of staring competition arises between the two, Wonwoo noting how pleasing the boys face was, broken when the designated supervision guard enters, his boots clunking against the floor as he walks to the nearest seat.

Plopping down on the chair, he makes vague motions with his hands,  
"What are you waiting for?"

The two boys rush to begin cleaning the scum filled room, working in silence.

The silence was only interrupted when the guard began to snore loudly, the snorts making the boys snicker.

Wonwoo wondered what the boy's prediction was, since it wasn't really discussed between the group, not that it was necessary, the boys seemed to already know everything about each other.

Mingyu was the one to start the conversation,

"I'm a predicted vandal; graffiti, arson, all the good shit." 

"Okay? I didn't ask"

Mingyu gave Wonwoo a knowing smirk, while continuing to scrape whatever substance that is off the wall.

"But you wanted to."

Wonwoo was already tired of this boy, already having an insight to what this boys ego was like.

"I actually wanted to know why you're on clean up duty." Wonwoo did actually want to find out, he's not lying, trust him.

"I apparently have 'no filter'," He uses his fingers to quote the phrase, rolling his eyes. "Swore at one too many guards, I guess." He shrugs.

-

After ten minutes, Wonwoo thinks he knows everything there is to know about Mingyu; what hospital he was born in, his parents names, his childhood best friend.

Mingyu now knows quite a bit about Wonwoo, but Wonwoo's careful with how much information he lets slip, with how transparent he's being.

 

"I see you've been getting close with our dear old Soonyoung." Mingyu probes.

"I mean, I guess. I don't really know much about him." Wonwoo focuses on a name that's been carved into the wall, "Jaehyun". He wonders who that is, and if they're currently in the shelter.

"Well what would you like to know?" 

"What?"

"What would you like to know?" Mingyu repeats.

"About Soonyoung?"

"It can be about anyone in our room."

Wonwoo thinks about who he already knows, and who he doesn't. 

"Lets start with Soonyoung then."

-

Wonwoo learns that Soonyoung is very cheerful all the time "that it's almost sinister" in Mingyu's words. His closest friend here is also apparently very optimistic and sees the best in everyone, even when he has reason not to. 

Mingyu scans the room, as if Soonyoung could appear before unnecessarily lowering his voice.  
"Don't tell him I told you this, but he's whipped for Jihoon."

"Jihoon, huh?"

Thinking back on it, Wonwoo thinks about all the times he's seen Jihoon lock eyes with Soonyoung, the latter's eyes going soft with admiration, but hardening again a millisecond later.

He comes to the conclusion that there is a lot of unsolved tension between the group of boys.

"Speaking of Jihoon, one tip of advice; don't call him short. Ever." Mingyu stops his motions with the final word. "It's asking for a punch."

From this point onwards, Wonwoo stops listening to Mingyu, opting for making regular affirmative sounds, and just watching the way his lips move.

Mingyu is handsome, there's no doubt about it, and Wonwoo wonders just how many admirers he possesses in this place.

Probably too many to count.

Wonwoo knows he's not bad himself, having had his fair share of his own admirers in high school, but Mingyu; Mingyu is a whole different story.

Wonwoo places his facination by Mingyu under the simple appreciation of his good looks, which it truly is.

-

Wonwoo and Mingyu are escorted back to their room after a gruelling four hours of cleaning the first and second floor of the shelter.

The rest of the boys, immersed in chatter, barely spare them a look.

Wonwoo scans the room and notes that Jihoon isn't sitting with the rest of them, Mingyu notices too.

"Where's Jihoon?" Mingyu inquires.

Seungcheol looks up, "Got into another fight."

Mingyu places his shoes by the cell door, Wonwoo follows suit.

"Damn, really? With who?"

"Jinhwan; kept making fun of his height, funny, he's not much better." 

Wonwoo notices how Soonyoung's presence is slightly smaller with Jihoon's absence, not drastically, not even noticeably; just slightly.

sending Mingyu a questioning glance, Mingyu explains Jihoon's missing presence in more detail after catching his eye.

Jihoon's prediction is a street fighter according to Mingyu, and mixed with his uncontrollable temper, it often leads to many fights involving him as the star of the show, which Wonwoo guesses, is why he is in Room No.17.

-

"Seungcheol-hyung, can you ask for new sheets and pillows?" 

A boy, who he finds out is named Jeonghan, asks, tucking his hair behind his ear and adopting a cutesy, baby voice.

"No! Are you trying to get me killed?" Seungcheol looks incredulous, a slightly scandalised tone to his voice.

Jeonghan pouts, clearly using his beauty to his advantage,  
"Not even for me~?"

Wonwoo fights the urge to gag, it seems as if others had the same idea as the room fills with sounds of retching.

Seungcheol's tough, 'no bullshit' demeanour is broken down with every pout Jeonghan pulls and every flutter of his lashes.

"Fine." Seungcheol says quietly, and Jeonghan cheers, along with the rest of the room, patting Jeonghan on the back, applauding him for his manipulativeness.

Jeonghan obviously, Wonwoo figures, knows how to get what he wants.

-

Soonyoung and Wonwoo are finally alone in the sleeping area - Soonyoung on his bunk while Wonwoo awkwardly stands in the middle of the room - whilst the others are still in the 'living area' (which is simultaneously a bathroom), and Wonwoo indentifies this as his chance to ask about why Joshua is here.

"Hey Soonyoung?" He hums in response, "I've been meaning to ask about why Joshua is here in Room No.17." 

Wonwoo continues,

"I mean what could he have done to end up here if his prediction was just petty thievery?"

Soonyoung carefully sits up, taking care not to hit his head on the surface of the ceiling. 

"He got into a fight."

Wonwoo was taken aback,

"/He/ got into a fight? Joshua?" Wonwoos voice picked up a surprised tone, though he tried to conceal it.

"Yeah, with Minghao, no one but a few people really know what it was about though, it was massive, happened like three months ago." 

Soonyoung seemed quite wary about talking about this, and the reason why was cleared when Minghao entered the room.

Minghao had a poker face hiding his emotions, but seemed unaware of the conversation that took places seconds before.  
He throws himself on a bunk,

"What are you guys talking about?" 

Wonwoo stutters before Soonyoung responds, taking away the responsibility from him,

"Joshua."

"Why." Minghao doesn't ask it as a question, it's almost an accusation. He also sits up.

Soonyoung doesn't seem to fear his accusing tone, like Wonwoo does, replying with one of his own,

"Are we not allowed to?"

His tone is challenging, and Wonwoo knows Minghao doesn't like it.

Wonwoo suddenly feels a foreboding emotion, sensing that neither of them will back down and continue fuelling the arising argument, and he doesn't have a clue about what might happen.

Wonwoo knows what they are both capable of.

"Why are you talking about Jisoo when he isn't even here?" Minghao provokes.

There's a warning glint in Soonyoung's eyes, the cheerfulness gone.  
"Don't call him Jisoo, you know he hates it." 

Wonwoo doesn't know why Joshua hates it, and at the moment he doesn't care, opting for diffusing the situation instead.

"Stop." Wonwoo says in an even tone, drawing the attention to himself. 

The fear is gone, and is replaced with fustration, which, in Wonwoo's case, often leads to anger, and Wonwoo is very irrational when angry. So he decides to stop the argument before it gets any more heated and Wonwoo gets himself involved.

Minghao sighs deeply and exits the room abruptly, leaving the other two in shock

Soonyoung seems to calm down immediately,

"We normally get along, but sometimes Minghao gets very defensive, especially about this." Soonyoung runs a hand through his black hair, a sign of stress. "Sorry about that."

"It's all good." Wonwoo repeats the same statement he said earlier today, but this time, it's a little less sincere.


	4. Chapter 4:

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We begin to find out why Joshua hates his birth name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's short, I'm sorry :(, but I've been feeling really uninspired recently, and you know life, and the amount of bs it likes to pull. Still, I hope you enjoy.

He'll never get a moment of silence, Wonwoo concludes, as he wakes up to a cell drenched in commotion. The frenzied conversations and the seemingly never ending sound of footsteps throughout the cell pull Wonwoo out of the dream he had already forgotten.

Confused, (and a little grumpy; they dont have to be up until seven and the clock beside him says that they are forty-five minutes short of that) Wonwoo sits up slowly, making sure not to hit his head against the ceiling, looking around the room with squinted eyes.

Adding to Wonwoo's bewilderment, he finds that no one else is in the room but Hansol, who is out cold, splayed across his bedsheets; the dent of another figure that previously occupied the space beside him still not smoothed out yet. Wonwoo has some sneaking suspicions about who left the dent in their wake.

He decides to go and see what was causing the mayhem that so rudely disrupted his sleep. Swinging his legs off the side of the bed, he climbs down the ladder and walks toward the door that is separating him - and Hansol - from the commotion.

Opening the door, he steps inside, eyes adjusting to the flood of light filling the room. He instantly spots Soonyoung and Minghao on opposite sides of the room, giving eachother quick glares every few minutes; they must still have some tension between them from the previous night.

But before he can analyse anything else about their dispute, he notices the bundle of boys surrounding a figure on the floor.

"Guys?" Wonwoo says timidly.

Their heads all spin around at lightning speed, all of them facing him, a deafening silence settling between them.

"What happ-" He began, only to be cut off.

"Chan fainted again." Minghao deadpanned, seeming very nonchalant at such an alarming situation.

Before Wonwoo can even question the fact that Minghao implicated that this has occurred before, the boys all simultaneously parted, letting Wonwoo have a glimpse of the youngest laying on the floor, his skin ashen and his lips pale.

Seungcheol began to speak, "We don't know what's wrong with him; he just faints periodically at any given time, but we try to get him away from crowds when we see the signs."

The oldest ran a hand through his hair and sighed, suddenly looking twice his age, and it's then when it dawns on Wonwoo how much the rest of Room No.17 really care about their maknae and it kinda makes him feel out of place.

"Well," Wonwoo's unsure of how to go about this question, "What do we do?"

To Wonwoo's surprise, Jeonghan responds with a simple "nothing", and the rest explain that Chan should wake within the next twenty minutes.

They seem experienced.

They all reassure Wonwoo, and tell him that everything is fine, but even so; he can't shake the feeling that something just isn't right.

-

After they eat lunch, and after they wash all their bedsheets and overalls, they are yet again, locked in the cell Wonwoo's already so accustomed to.

Spending fifteen plus hours in one room does things to your mind, and Wonwoo can only imagine what it would be like if he was alone, like the people in the 'extreme crime committed in shelter' section, ECCS for short; his friend Bambam was thrown in there after setting fire to a trashcan, which ended up burning an entire shed, a dare being his reason. Wonwoo wonders how he's doing.

Everyone in Wonwoos room seems to have people that can break past their cold demeanour, and due to the fact that Wonwoo hasn't quite found that person yet; he has a lot of free time, used to analyse the antics of his cellmates.

Hansol was a confusing one; always stuck in his own world, distant from reality. He was always laid back, not making a big deal of everything, and always opting for the easiest option. Wonwoo kind of liked Vernon's calmness, as it provided peace within a world of madness.

However when it came to the boy's prediction, no one really knew anything about it. Nobody except from Seungkwan of course, and the drama queen never lets word slip from his mouth, always switching the subject when asked. Wonwoo guesses it's just a mystery that will solve itself.

Hansol and Seungkwan share a special bond that would be obvious even to a man with half a brain, but whenever its questioned; Seungkwan 'doesn't know what you're talking about' and Hansol just replied with one of his infamous lazy grins, waving it off with a 'don't worry about it'.

At least they have their shit sorted out better than Soonyoung and Jihoon, Wonwoo thinks; it was just today that they were caught cuddling in the sleeping area by a stressed Junhui, later denying all allegations of said cuddling and the tension that hovered around both of their heads was so thick, that you could almost see it.

Soonyoung and Jihoon were much easier to figure out, as they both wore their hearts on their sleeves (however cunning they may be), and their love for eachother was so clear, though they denied it very much.

It must be nice having somebody like that, Wonwoo thinks, someone that you've known so long that you can read their thoughts and feelings as if they're on a page just by looking at them; the way Jeonghan and Seungcheol can.

It must be nice having someone that you can be as horrible as you like to, but still have them come back into your arms and smile at you the same way; just like Minghao and Junhui do.

If must be nice having someone that you can be yourself around, not having to worry about being too loud or too quiet, or too weird or too boring around them; like Vernon and Seungkwan have.

Yeah, Wonwoo knows that their lives aren't perfect, and believe him, he's aware of all the trouble in paradise, but still, he would prefer to have somebody there with him, he wishes he didn't feel so lonely in the boys' company.

-

The next time Wonwoo has a private, well semi-private, encounter with Mingyu was after a game of truth or dare; the boys' resorting to party games and just talking to entertain themselves, since there was no such thing as mobile phones or computers in a shelter. Wonwoo wonders how long it's been since Seungcheol used a phone, being the first out of the group to be taken.

Wonwoo, being uncharacteristically bold, picked dare when it was finally his turn to choose, and sat in anticipation as the others huddled in front of him, speaking in hushed whispers as they decided his fate.

One by one, they began to face Wonwoo, and Jeonghan started reciting his dare.

"We dare you to accept a kiss on the cheek from whoever you find most attractive."

Wonwoo did a double take, but inside his head of course, he wasn't that close with the boys yet, was he? However since he wasn't one to back down from a dare, especially since he chose dare in the first place, he turned to Mingyu and with the last bit of confidence left in him, said,

"Come on then, kiss me." 

Kill him now, kill Wonwoo now, he'll even thank you for it. Mingyu was silent, obviously in shock, probably weirded out and confused, after all, why was this boy that he'd only known for a week asking for a kiss? Wonwoo would be disgusted too.

And then he feels the soft press of lips against his cheek, Mingyu's lips chapped due to the lack of necessary products, like lip balm, in the shelter. Mingyu's lips leave his cheek after what feels like half a second, and Wonwoo doesn't think he's ever blushed this hard, this fast.

Silence arises between the group before cheers erupt, just like the calm before a storm. The boys obviously didn't expect Wonwoo to accept the dare so easily and were, quite clearly, shocked by the outcome and to be frank, Wonwoo was pretty shocked himself.

Mingyu was now smirking, probably bathing his ego with the fact that Wonwoo found him most attractive, and Wonwoo made a note to shoot that confidence boost down asap. 

But first, he needs to get over his flimsy embarrassment at a kiss on the cheek, what was he, five?

The game continued on as normal, but the pink on Wonwoo's cheeks never faded and Mingyus smirk never faltered.

-

"Soonyoung, I've been meaning to ask, but why does Joshua hate being called his real name." It's become a normal occurance now, for Wonwoo to ask Soonyoung any questions he has on his mind about the shelter and it's residents and so far Soonyoung has been very helpful.

"What, am I your Wikipedia now?" Soonyoung jokes, but his expression dies down within seconds at his next words.

"I'm not really allowed to say, but I can tell you that it's about his family, that kids background fucked up his mind big time." Soonyoung shudders as he says it, but looks around to make sure no one listened in on their small conversation.

"Now I really can't say anything more, and I wouldn't advise asking him yourself, but go ahead, I guess." 

Wonwoo decides he won't. Although Joshua seems to be a very gentle, kind person, he doesn't want to find out what happens when he's triggered. He assumes that's what caused the fight that sent him to Room No.17.

-

Wonwoo would now say that he's got to a point where he could label Soonyoung as his best friend. He could. That doesn't mean he will though, if Soonyoung's anything like Mingyu, he won't hear the end of it for days. Their egos are very dangerous, it's like playing with fire.

Mingyu has not stopped teasing Wonwoo about how red he became on he night of the dare and frankly Wonwoo's had enough. He decides to give him a taste of his own medicine, how? He's not quite sure yet.


End file.
